Protective eyewear is an important component of ensuring the safety of personnel who are involved in manufacturing, processing, research and development, and medicine. It is also used in recreational activities such as squash and snorkeling.
Protective eyewear minimizes the risk that an undesirable or noxious substance will come into contact with an individual's eyes. Typically, protective eyewear exists in the form of goggles, and in some instances protective eyewear may be referred to as “safety goggles.”
One obvious limitation of protective eyewear is that it is only effective if it stays on a wearer's face. In order to keep goggles or other protective eyewear on one's face, straps may be used. Typically, a strap rests along the rear side of a wearer's head, and through the use of tension, facilitates keeping the goggles in place over the wearer's eyes.
Unfortunately, current goggle straps suffer from at least three problems. First, within a given laboratory, industrial site, sports facility or other location, many sets of goggles and straps look alike, and thus are difficult to clean on a large scale while retaining the identity of the previous wearer. Second, currently available strap materials are prone to particulation; they can shred, hold particulates, shed, etc. Third, current straps are often difficult to adjust for a person's head size while retaining the wearer's comfort; this is particular problematic for neoprene straps. The present invention addresses these issues by providing improved goggle straps.